The Israeli government press office has been forced to apologise after circulating a video that mocked activists aboard the Gaza flotilla.

A scene from the ‘Con The World’ video that mocks the Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla

The five-minute video clip, which has been viewed over 1.3 million times, is a spoof of the 1985 charity single ‘We Are The World’.

Israelis dressed as Arabs and activists are seen waving weapons while singing a revised version of the song, which includes the lyrics ‘We con the world, we con the people. We’ll make them all believe the IDF (Israel Defence Force) is Jack the Ripper.’

The song also pokes fun at the international aid effort, claiming ‘Coz (sic) the billion bucks in aid, won’t buy their basic needs, like some cheese and missiles for the kids.’

The Israeli government press office distributed the video to journalists at the weekend, but issued an apology within hours saying that it had been an error.

Government spokesman Mark Regev told the Guardian ‘I called my kids in to watch it because I thought it was funny,

‘It is what Israelis feel. But the government has nothing to do with it.’

The clip has been praised by mass media in Israel. The daily Yediot Aharonot newspaper said that the video ‘defended Israel better than any of the experts’.

The footage of the ‘singers’ is interspersed with clips showing the recent IDF raid on the Gaza-bound aid ship, the Mavi Marmara.

Israeli Defence Force soldiers boarded the Mavi Marmara and six other aid boats on 31 May in a pre-dawn raid that left nine activists dead.

Last week, the Israeli Defence Force was forced to issue a retraction over an audio clip it claimed proved that an activist had told soldiers to ‘go back to Auschwitz’. The army released a ‘clarification/correction’ on Monday explaining that the footage had been edited and it was not sure who had originally made the comment.